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Category: Tourism / Great Barrier Reef / Travel and Tourism

Tourism numbers sinking on the Southern Great Barrier Reef

06:54 UTC+8 April 28, 2017

The channel out of Round Hill Creek at 1770 has become shallower over the past year. (Supplied: VMR Round Hill)

An iconic beachside community in regional Queensland is struggling to stay afloat amid a sharp drop in tourism numbers.

Passengers were evacuated from the Spirit of 1770 after a fire on board. Photo: A fire started in the engine room of the Spirit of 1770, forcing an evacuation in May 2016. (Supplied: Total Travel)

The Town of 1770 and Agnes Water, in Central Queensland, received no major damage from Tropical Cyclone Debbie and has escaped the coral bleaching affecting reefs further north.

Hotel and resort management believe the townships' problems stem from May 2016, when the Spirit of 1770 — a catamaran carrying 46 passengers and crew — caught fire and sank while returning from a trip to Lady Musgrave Island, on the Southern Great Barrier Reef.

All on board escaped with only a few minor injuries reported.

The catamaran carried up to 150 people to the Southern Great Barrier Reef for snorkelling and tours of Lady Musgrave Island.

But since it sank, resorts and hotels have noticed a massive drop in the number of tourists staying, and the amount of time they are staying for.

'We're going to bleed right through winter'

Simon Della Santa sitting neara pool while staring straight into the camera Photo: Simon Della Santa says a significant portion of his business relies on tourists getting regular and reliable access to Lady Musgrave Island. (ABC: Dominic Cansdale)

Lagoons 1770 general manager Simon Della Santa said business performance had been "extremely poor" at the 112-room luxury resort.

"[We] initially forecasted good growth of around 10 per cent month on month and then it all fell away quite dramatically, and the pickup just didn't materialise," he said.

"The expected growth, second year trading, is just non-existent, it's actually gone backwards."

Mr Della Santa said the loss of 'The Spirit', owned by local operators Lady Musgrave Cruises, had an immediate impact on his business.

"It was a dramatic decrease, the phone stopped ringing and even cancellations to the point where I was falling 5 per cent month on month behind last year's trading figures," he said.

"The weekends dropped considerably, 5 to 6 per cent each weekend and the long-stay internationals seem to have dropped a bit as well."

"We're going to bleed right through winter as far as I'm concerned; I can't see it picking up."

Tony Davies owns Edge on Beaches, a block of self-contained units in 1770, and has lost around $250,000 in the past 11 months.

"Since the Lady Musgrave Cruises went down we've dropped about 40 to 45 per cent in our accommodation," he said.

"Apart from our weekend trade, all of our other trade is people coming to do water experiences."

Retail feeling the pinch

Wayne 'Grom' Mellick owns a local surf shop and noticed a drop in his summer trade of between 20 and 30 per cent.

He said the loss of up to 150 people per tour group had put immediate pressure on local retailers.

"It wasn't just taking months, it was straight away, those people weren't coming into town," he said.

"It means a loss of trade, it means a loss of jobs, it means a lot of low self-esteem and it definitely puts pressure on businesses and also families because we're used to getting that income and living that better quality of life by having that income."

Access to reef vital for sustainability of tourism

Mark Hulst stands in front of small creek staring into the distance Photo: Sandcastles 1770 Manager, Mark Hulst, says the outlook for his business is dire without more regular tours to Lady Musgrave Island. (ABC: Dominic Cansdale)

Manager of Sandcastles 1770 Motel and Resort, Mark Hulst, said in the month following the sinking of The Spirit, his occupancy rate dropped to just 12 per cent.

He said while another boat operated tours to Lady Musgrave Island, its capacity was around half of The Spirit of 1770's and did not usually operate in swells above 15 knots.

"With the current boat, terrific we've got something, but it's just not big enough to cope and then we have the problems with the channel, which isn't big enough or deep enough to take a bigger boat," Mr Hulst said.

The depth of the channel at Round Hill Creek, which leads out from 1770 and into open water, is around 0.7 metres.

Secretary of Volunteer Marine Rescue Round Hill, Josie Meng, commissioned an aerial survey of the creek last year, finding it had become shallower over the past 12 months.

"Unfortunately vessels over 2 metres in depth we're saying 'Sorry don't come in, anchor in Bustard Bay'," Ms Meng said.

"We don't want to put tourism off but we are concerned for the safety of the people and our first priority is the safety of the boating public and our crew."

For business owners like Mr Hulst, Mr Della Santa and Mr Davies, guaranteed access to Lady Musgrave Island is a major tourism drawcard.

"We're only five and half hours from Brisbane, people can come here and go to the reef, they don't have to go to Port Douglas or the Whitsundays and we've got pristine reef," Mr Hulst said.

The State Member for Burnett, which takes in 1770 and Agnes Water, Stephen Bennett said quotes of between $40,000 and $150,000 had been obtained to dredge the creek.

"What's been proposed is a drag operation, which is like a mini plough, that would disperse the sand to the left and right," he said.

"Environmental approvals I believe are already in place for maintenance dredging and that's all we're asking for."

Planning the return of The Spirit of 1770

Carolyn Clayton's family owns Lady Musgrave Cruises, which operated The Spirit of 1770.

The boat was purpose-built to navigate Round Hill Creek's shallow channel and could carry as many as 150 people out to Lady Musgrave Island on a daily basis.

Ms Clayton is confident they will return to business in the next few months, with a smaller boat that can carry around 70 people.

She said while their insurance claim of more than $1 million on The Spirit has not been denied by insurers QBE, they were still waiting for payment.

A spokeswoman for QBE said the claim was still being processed as the Australian Maritime Safety Authority continued its investigations into The Spirit.

"Unfortunately it is taking longer to resolve than we'd like due to its complex nature, the outstanding requests for information and ongoing investigations by QBE and authorities," the spokeswoman said.

In the meantime, Ms Clayton said the value of regular tours to Lady Musgrave Island had become clear since the loss of The Spirit.

"It is a catalyst to keep a small township, that predominately relies on tourism, alive," she said.

"It's not as if we're Bundaberg or Gladstone where you've got cane and small crops and a bit of manufacturing to rely on as well as tourism."

"1770 is basically tourism."

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